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PetSmart launches in-store pet nutrition shop

The new space features an expanded collection of natural and superpremium pet food products.

PetSmart has announced the addition of its Pinnacle Pet Nutrition Shop in all new stores, excluding the groomery stand-alone salon stores, which began opening in October 2017. The Pinnacle Pet Nutrition Shop is a dedicated space featuring an expanded collection of pet food products offering high-protein, organic, natural, grain-free, minimally processed and/or raw pet food. These food types are the fastest growing in the overall pet food category, according to PetSmart.

The Pinnacle Pet Nutrition Shops are featured in all 35 new stores opened so far through the second quarter 2017. The shops are about 550 square feet and offer 400-plus items across several brands such as Wellness, which includes Wellness CORE RawRev high-protein kibble plus 100 percent freeze dried raw meat and dehydrated Wellness TruFood formulas; Instinct – The Raw Brand; Castor & Pollux with its Organix & Pristine lines; as well as Only Natural Pet, which offers paleo-inspired, raw, protein-first recipes that are dehydrated, freeze-dried and air-dried.

The Pinnacle Pet Nutrition Shop recently won the Retail Council of Canada’s Excellence in Retailing Award for the in-store merchandising category.

Freeze-dried pet food and the superpremium market

According to PetSmart, raw formulas are popular among pet parents today, especially the freeze-dried, air-dried and dehydrated recipes that deliver a raw nutrition alternative. Only Natural Pet is rooted in this approach, and PetSmart is the exclusive US retailer for this pet food brand, which launched in 2015 at PetSmart in about 250 stores and is now offered in more than 800 stores across the US and Canada.

Freeze-dried pet food is a segment of the growing superpremium pet food market that caters to the consumer looking for high-end, customized options for their dog or cat. An increasing trend over the last few years, freeze-dried food has the benefits of technology, nutrition and convenience on its side as it increasingly takes up space on pet store shelves.